The NBA is full of talent, personality and suspense. During the offseason, It’s easy to forget how wonderful the league can be. So, I’ve assembled 67 Reasons I’m Excited For Next Season (67RIEFNS). They’ll be presented in no particular order.

From criminal to clownish, Stephenson has nearly halted his upward trajectory many times.

But – thanks in large part to the care of Larry Bird and the Pacers – Stephenson has overcome.

The organization nurtured him. While many teams let marginal prospects sink or swim on their own, Bird took special care with Stephenson. Whether that meant supporting, teaching or scolding, Bird looked out for Stephenson.

By working with him on the court and off, the Pacers molded Stephenson into a near All-Star. Stephenson, though still far from perfect, has become a real success story – as long as he doesn’t mess it up.

The NBA is full of talent, personality and suspense. During the offseason, It’s easy to forget how wonderful the league can be. So, I’ve assembled 67 Reasons I’m Excited For Next Season (67RIEFNS). They’ll be presented in no particular order.

At times, Roy Hibbert looks dominant.

One of the game’s best defenders, he can protect the rim at historically great levels. Even away from the hoop, his defense has developed.

So has his his offense. At times, his post-ups are impressive, and he’s emerging as a pick-and-roll finisher.

Now, with Paul George injured and Lance Stephenson in Charlotte, the Pacers need Hibbert more than ever.

Joakim Noah was the only other All-Star with a below-average usage rate last season. With Derrick Rose getting healthy and Pau Gasol signing, Noah can fade a bit further into the background offensively this year.

At the beginning of this summer’s free agent signing period, the Pacers pulled out all the stops to make their pitch to Lance Stephenson.

But they also may have done something that forced him to look elsewhere.

Indiana came with what it believed was a fair offer of five years and $44 million, but also set an artificial deadline for Stephenson to accept it. Wisely, Stephenson declined, wanting to see if he could make more on the open market instead.

“I wanted to stay there but they gave me a deadline where I had to choose,” Stephenson said. “So there wasn’t no time for me to make a decision. They gave me a deadline (before) how long it (was) going to take for them to go somewhere else.

“I had to make a quick decision and me and my agent decided we would see what other teams (were) talking about.”

On July 2, the Pacers turned their attention to Plan B and agreed to terms with free agent CJ Miles. In Stephenson’s view, the Miles’ deal sealed his departure from the Pacers.

“They didn’t have nothing else. They had no more money or anything. That was basically it right there,” Stephenson said. “Soon as I said no to that offer, they went and signed CJ. I figured they thought I had no chance of coming back, they just went on and signed CJ. … I felt like it was a wrap after that.”

It’s very possible that the Pacers did all of this on purpose.

Stephenson was one of Indiana’s only two consistent playmakers on the offensive end of the floor last season, but he also came unhinged emotionally at the worst possible time during the Eastern Conference Finals. It was believed all along that the Pacers would only go so far in offering Stephenson a deal to re-sign, and while the numbers appeared to be fair on the surface (and could fool the team’s fans into thinking that the offer was sincere), the reality was that Stephenson could likely do better somewhere else.

The fact that the team placed an artificial deadline on him accepting the deal essentially ensured that Stephenson wouldn’t take it, and going out and signing Miles once Stephenson declined (which reduced the team’s available cap space in the process) only made it less likely that a deal with Stephenson would eventually get done — and Pacers president Larry Bird knew that.

When you lose the best player walking the face of the earth, your team gets worse.

Which is why when Jenna Corrado and I discussed teams I expect to take a step back this season, Miami is right at the top of the list. The Heat will still be good, they are still a playoff team in the East, but they are no longer the contenders they once were.

Another team obviously taking a step back is Indiana, a team that struggled on offense and now is without Lance Stephenson (left via free agency) and Paul George (injury). Going to be a rough season in Indy.

Finally, we talk Rockets. They are still a 50-win team, but they lost so much depth that it will cost them some games. And in the brutally deep West, that drops you fast down the standings.

If you f— this up, you’re a really big idiot. You know what I mean? ESPN are idiots, but you’re a really big idiot if you manage to f— this up.

Unfortunately, it really doesn’t work that way. The best players, even those with championship experience, don’t necessarily make the best mentors and coaches. They can’t just transfer their knowledge and skills through osmosis.

While Kobe has played for the Lakers, a dozen other first-round picks have made their debuts:

Javaris Crittenton

Jordan Farmar

Andrew Bynum

Sasha Vujacic

Brian Cook

Kareem Rush

Mark Madsen

Devean George

Tyronn Lue

Sam Jacobson

And here are first-round picks who made their debuts on teams Scott coached:

Tyler Zeller:

Dion Waiters

Tristan Thompson

Kyrie Irving

Christian Eyenga

Darren Collison

Julian Wright

Hilton Armstrong

Cedric Simmons

Chris Paul

J.R. Smith

Zoran Planinic

Brandon Armstrong

Jason Collins

Richard Jefferson

Kenyon Martin

Scott seems to have a much better record of player development than Kobe, both are far from perfect. Perhaps, all the busts just screwed it up themselves, but I think it’s more likely neither Scott nor Kobe provide a perfect Petri dish for rookies to grow.

Unquestionably, Randle can learn from Kobe and Scott. And, so far, it seems Randle has the talent to succeed.

But even if Randle takes every reasonable step, it’s still possible he fails as an NBA player. It’s far to soon to declare he’ll make it – even with Kobe and Scott around.